Back when I was serving in the military, I was involved in a training accident that resulted in myself and another member of my unit going to the military infirmary. We had been doing drill on an indoor parade square, which isn't a particularly dangerous activity. But because of the cold weather outside, some engineers decided to work on fixing a motor just inside one end of the building. They opened the door thinking that would provide enough fresh air for those of us doing drill, but they were wrong. Two of us succumbed to the carbon monoxide before they shut down the engine.

I remember seeing myself there in the infirmary. My face was very red. I also saw the other member of my unit floating above his body. I wanted to communicate with him, but he went back into himself before that happened. I was sure he had seen me too.

I really wasn't in a hurry to go back inside myself. I didn't respond when the medic called my name. But then someone started yelling orders at me using my rank, and I felt compelled to follow orders. So I went back and woke up, and it felt terrible. I was cold and had an awful headache.

I didn't know what OBEs or NDEs were back then. I've had other experiences that I would classify as more of a textbook NDE. This was more of an "OBE by misadventure".

I wanted to ask the other person who I saw outside of his body what he had experienced, but he wouldn't talk to me. He actually freaked out when I tried to approach him. Next thing I knew, he had put in his release from the military. I never saw him again.

I've always wished that we could have talked about what happened. I'd love to hear his side of that story.

When you observed your companion/associate, do you recall seeing anything that astral projection people talk of as being "the silver cord"? This should have looked like a slender/wisp like connection between his physical body and his floating astral body.

It is stated that as long as the "silver cord" remains intact, then it is possible for the astral to return (ie, merge back with) the physical. However, once the 'silver cord" breaks or becomes separated, return back into the physical is not possible. This is said to be true (irrevocable) death at the physical level (ie, in an NDE, past the perceived point of no return that is commonly mentioned).

I've never seen any scientific studies that suggest it's something people regularly see. It seems to be more of a mythology of how these experiences should be. Perhaps if you think there should be a silver cord, that kind of thing manifests itself. Just like ghosts are often younger and thinner than they looked while they were alive. Or how Christians will see Jesus in the light, but non religious people will see what makes sense to them.